Tag Archives: National Motor Museum

Four Independently Sprung Tons – Bluebird Proteus CN7

Between 1955 and 1964 Donald Campbell, son of Sir Malcom, set 6 World Water Speed records in the remarkable jet powered hyroplane Bluebird K7.

Equally remarkably during much of this time Donald was also raising the funds for todays featured Bluebird-Proteus CN7 for an attack on the 394 mph land speed record which had been set by John Cobb driving the Railton Mobil Special in September 1947.

After Donald had set a new water speed record of 202 mph with his K7 hydroplane he asked it’s designers Lew and Ken Norris if they would like to design and build today’s featured record breaking car.

Bluebird-Proteus CN7, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu,

The Norris brothers set about devising possibly the worlds most sophisticated motor vehicle with a monocoque chassis housing a modified 4,450hp Bristol-Siddeley Proteus turbo prop motor that delivers power through two gearboxes to the front and rear axles which in turn drive the independently sprung 52 inch Dunlop wheels.

The Norris Brothers and many since anticipated that the Bluebird Proteus CN7 would be capable of 500 mph.

Despite the cars front wheels having only a 4 degree turning angle Donald Campbell gave the CN7 it’s first public outing at Goodwood in 1960 managing a couple of demonstration laps. With the engine running at idling speed it still managed to reach 100 mph on the straight.

Bluebird-Proteus CN7, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu,

Donald’s first attempts to break the World Land Speed record at Bonneville in 1960 ended with an accident in which he suffered a fractured lower skull and a broken ear drum.

While recuperating Donald learned to fly and rebuilt CN7 for a Land Speed Record Attempt in 1963.

Bluebird-Proteus CN7, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu,

Lake Eyre in Australia was chosen not only because more space was available by also because it had not rained there for 20 years… until Donald and CN7 turned up.

In 1964 Donald returned to Lake Eyre and without a properly dried out salt surface managed to raise the World Land Speed Record to a disappointing 403 mph, nearly 100 miles an hour short of his target.

On the 31st of December 1964 Donald became the first man to set World Speed Records on Land and Water in the same year when he set his final new record aboard K7 of 276 mph on Lake Dumbkeyung also in Australia.

Bluebird-Proteus CN7, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu,

The regulations for land speed records were relaxed to allow thrust powered vehicles without driven wheels shortly after Donald set his record in the four wheel drive CN7.

The Norris brothers were envisaging rocket propulsion for a new Bluebird Mach 1.1 vehicle when Donald was killed aboard K7 on Coniston Water in England while he was trying to raise the World Water Speed record on January 4th 1967.

Bluebird Proteus CN7 is seen in these photographs at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu where it is usually to be found when not out on loan.

Thanks for joining me on this “Four Independently Sprung Tons” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another Triumph Rally car. Don’t forget to come back now !

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150.87 mph / 242.80 kph – Sunbeam V12

These day’s if one had just £500 to spare it would probably not be too difficult to scan a few classified car ads and find a car that was still capable of reaching 150 mph.

Sunbeam V12, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

When Sunbeam’s chief engineer and racing team manager Louis Coatalen conceived today’s featured Sunbeam V12 in 1920 the World Land Speed Record stood at 124.09mph / 199.70kph set by Lydston Hornsted driving a 200hp Benz at Brooklands in June 1914.

Sunbeam V12, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Louis’s idea was to fit a 350 hp 18.3 litre / 1116 cui V12 Sunbeam Manitou V12 aero engine in to a chassis and clad the vehicle in the most aerodynamically slippery shape that could be devised.

Sunbeam V12, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Harry Hawker was given the task of driving the Sunbeam V12 at two Brooklands race meetings in 1920, but the car suffered from damage after a tyre blew on the Whitsun Weekend and then could not start after the engine stalled in August, but René Thomas drove the car to a new 108 mph course record on the Gaillon Hill Climb in France.

Sunbeam V12, Doug Hill, Goodwood Festival of Speed

In 1921 Kenelm Lee Guinness drove the car at Brooklands recording a top speed of 140 mph and an average lap speed of 116 mph at the Autumn meeting, the following year Kenelm set a one way flying kilometer record of 133 mph, but this was never recognised as a World Land Speed record for which the speed is determined by the average of two runs in opposite directions.

Sunbeam V12, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Malcolm Campbell borrowed the Sunbeam V12 to compete in the 1923 Saltburn Speed Trials and recorded a one way run of 138 mph which was enough to convince him that he should purchase the car for further Land Speed Record attempts in 1924.

Sunbeam V12, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

After Ernest Eldridge raised the official Land Speed Record to just over 145 mph aboard the FIAT Mephistopheles, a vehicle I shall be looking at next week, in June 1924 at in Arpajon in France, Malcolm took his now blue and silver, previously green and silver, Sunbeam to the Pendine Sands in September 1924 and recorded a two way average speed of just over 146 mph for his and the Sunbeams first World Land Speed Record.

In July 1925 the combination returned to Pendine Sands and raised the World Land Speed Record to 150.87 mph / 242.80 kph a record that stood for just under a year when a car that I shall be looking at in two weeks took the record up to 170 mph.

Thanks for joining me on this “150.87 mph / 242.80 kph” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Maserati Monday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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The Tax Man Has Taken All My Bugs – Bugatti Type 15 #366

Milanese Ettore Bugatti was working for, the company founded by Nicolas Otto that became, Deutz Gasmotoren Fabrik in Cologne, Germany where he designed his Type 8 and Type 9 between 1907 and 1909 when he decided to build his own car in his basement.

Upon completion of the project, known as the Type 10, in 1909 Ettore packed his possessions and family into his new creation and headed for Alsace to found Automobiles E. Bugatti and look for a factory in which to build more cars of his own design.

Bugatti Type 15, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Settling in Molsheim, Alsace Ettore set about building the Type 13 which like the Type 10 featured advanced, for the period in which chain drive was the norm, shaft drive, a larger 1368cc /83 cui version of the 4 cylinder Type 10 motor and for racing variants only cutting edge of technology 4 valve heads.

Unlike the Type 10 which only had leaf springs at the front and an unsprung rear axle the Type 13 featured leaf springs all round.

Bugatti Type 15, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

The 16 valve Type 13 produced around 30 hp at 4,500 rpm an extraordinary high output for such a small motor thanks to the 4 valve heads, bearing in mind that the slightly earlier 35/45 hp Itala required a 7.4 litre / 453 cui motor to produce only 5 – 15hp more.

Automobiles E. Bugatti produced 5 Type 13’s in 1910 and in 1911 Ernest Friderich drove one of them in the 7 hour marathon French Grand Prix in which he finished 2nd, albeit 2 laps down, to the winning 10 litre / 589 cui 4 cylinder FIAT S61 driven by Victor Hemery.

Bugatti Type 15, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Today’s featured 1910 Type 15 is similar to the Type 13, except that it was built with a longer chassis, 14 inch longer wheel base and is fitted with a 15hp 8 valve motor number #16.

This car, seen at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu was first owned by Ettore’s wife Mdme Barbra Bugatti and fitted with a saloon / sedan body. Before being registered in the UK by Col. Dowson in 1921, #366 is said to have been of service on the battlefields of the 1914 – 18 war.

Bugatti Type 15, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

The next known owner of #366 was Bugatti enthusiast CWP ‘Peter’ Hampton, the head of an international firm of land agents who lived in Effingham Common, Surrey and later Bolney, Sussex where he tended his collection reported to include Rolls-Royces, Mercedes Benz of all ages, at least one Hispano Suiza and 25 Bugattis, one of which was ‘recovered’ from Czechoslovakia in what has been described as a James Bond style operation when the country was still heavily under Soviet influence behind the Iron Curtain.

Peter replaced the original saloon / sedan body on #366 for the 2 seat sports tourer seen today in the 1930’s and used to compete with it regularly at Prescott along with four of his other competition Bugatti’s which included a Type 13, Type 18, Type 30, and Type 57C of which the Type 15 was unsurprisingly the slowest having achieved a best time of 80.7 seconds.

Bugatti Type 15, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

The highly polished brass box above is an acetylene gas generator, for the gas powered headlights, which featured a Patented Automatic Shaking Grate Generator manufactured by Rushmore Dynamo Works at Plainfields N.J., U.S.A between 1905 and 1914 when the company was bought for $750,000 cash by Bosch Magneto Co.

During the ’39 – ’45 war, Peter served as a War Substantive Lieutenant in the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, Royal Armoured Corps and was in the first wave to land at Gold Beach in the D-Day landings at Normandy in support of the infantry regiments.

 Bugatti Type 15, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Five of the 4th/7th’s tanks were lost before making shore despite being dropped off 200 yards from the beach, instead of the planned two miles, because of the unexpectedly high seas.

During the landings Peter received a permanent shrapnel injury to his left arm which was henceforth completely unusable, after relinquishing his commission due to his injuries Peter returned to Suffolk where his cars had been kept in working condition by farmer Stanley Sears, father of two time British Saloon / Sedan champion Jack.

Bugatti Type 15, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

To over come the problem of his left arm Peter had Stanley convert all of his vehicles to right hand gear change and Peter kept competing at Prescott and other events with #366 until 1952.

#366 is the oldest example of the marque in the UK and thought to be the second oldest Bugatti in the world and it along with the rest of the cars in Peter’s collection were dispersed after his death in the 1980’s.

Bugatti Type 15, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Although #366 is road fund licence exempt it has not been issued with a valid tax exempt disc since 1985, though ironically, the vehicle actually belongs to Her Majesties Government who acquired it from Peter Hampton’s estate in lieu of inheritance tax.

My thanks to Allan Lupton for enlightening me about the Rushmore Dynamo Works Patented Automatic Shaking Grate Acetylene Generator, to Doug Nye, Roger Lund, John Winfield, Vitesse2, Carl R.S. and Hipperson who all contributed to the ‘C.W.P. ‘Peter’ Hampton; racing driver and collector’ at The Nostalgia Forum and likewise to everyone who contributed to the ‘great bugatti collectors’ thread at Bugattibuilder.com forum.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Tax Man Has Taken All My Bugs” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at McLaren’s 50th Anniversary efforts in the 2013 Formula One season. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Schoolboys And A Handrill – Bloody Mary

Half brothers John and Richard appear to have been born in 1910 and 1912 respectively to Vary who married Richards father Richard (Snr) Bolster in 1911 the same year in which she and John’s father were granted a Decree Absolute. Richard (Snr) was killed in action in 1917 while serving with the rank of Major in the Royal Field Artillery. During the 1914 to 1918 Great War Vary, who was very interested in cars and motoring, is said to have driven her own Napier and a Mercedes as part of her contribution to the war effort. After the war Vary Bolster is said to have driven a 3 litre Bentley and spectated at Brooklands events organised by the BARC who’s strap line ran “The right crowd and no crowding”.

Bloody Mary, 5th Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend, Gurston Down

While still at school John and brother Richard set about building a special with the object of “driving around a field as dangerously as possible”. To build the tapered from the front to rear chassis the boys fashioned three longitudinal chassis rails from ash and joined them together with with steel brackets to two cross members front and rear. It would appear the most sophisticated tool at the boys disposal was a hand drill.

Bloody Mary, 5th Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend, Gurston Down

The original front axle had no suspension other than that afforded by the balloon aircraft tyres fitted to the wheels or brakes. The 1914 13 hp vee twin JAP motor, mounted between the center chassis rail and left chassis rail drove a chain attached to the Juckes, motorcycle, gearbox which in turn drove a rubber belt attached to a solid rear axle, carried in a pair of bronze bushes in gunmetal housings sourced from a Grahame White cycle car, mounted below the chassis rails and suspended by quarter elliptic springs. With the driver sitting to the right almost alongside the motor and gearbox the contraption in it’s original guise weighed around 230 kgs / 507 lbs and was said to be capable of 55 mph, and was slowed using “negligible” band brakes on the rear axle.

Bloody Mary, 5th Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend, Gurston Down

Not having scared them selves sufficiently, over time the car was developed, a GN tube front axle with leaf springs bound with “best quality blind cord” to the chassis replaced the original though again without brakes. The output was more than doubled to over 30hp with the acquisition of a more modern 4 cam JAP vee twin motor which required the rubber final drive be replaced by a chain twixt gearbox and rear axle. A semblance of a body was added along with the name “Bloody Mary” which has been interpreted as a jest against the stuffy preeminent establishment still prevalent in Britain between WW1 and WW2. Described as a determined “bon viver” John would later become well known for his “very blue“, language, after dinner speeches.

Bloody Mary, 5th Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend, Gurston Down

As the boys became undergraduates, John at Oxford and Richard at Cambridge, they started entering the road registered car into speed and trials competitions which meant wiring torches to the mudguards for illumination and obliging the passenger to perch precariously twixt hot exhaust to the front and above the rear chain. After finally scaring himself in Bloody Mary Richard eventually went on to build a second GN based special of which John said “owing to some oversight on the part of the licensing authorities, both cars had the same registration number” meaning care was taken that the two specials were never seen together.

Bloody Mary, 5th Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend, Gurston Down

John persevered with Bloody Mary fitting a new tubular front axle carrying 1928 vintage Austin Seven brakes and wheels. After two unfortunate “wild” young men fell off their Brough Superior motor cycles John replaced the 4 cam JAP which had given as much as 40 hp after much development, with first one over head valve KTOR JAP motor and fitted the second when it unexpectedly also became available using an ingenious spring loaded sprocket to compensate for firing irregularities between the two motors. In order to avoid back fires which would destroy the drive train John always needed four strong blokes to give him a push start, it was a tribute to Johns good standing in the paddock that he never had a shortage of volunteers.

Bloody Mary, 5th Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend, Gurston Down

On his first outing at Lewes Speed Trials in the now twin engined junk yard special the hubs burst as John was accelerating, while John fought to control the car through a series of wild slides he switched off the motors and coasted over the line with a time fast enough to win his class. The hubs were subsequently replaced with sturdier Frazer Nash items and in 1937 John was just a shade over 3 seconds slower than Raymond Mays’s supercharged ERA R4B up the Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb, a performance described in one contemporary report as ‘a miracle of wheel-winding’. At this point John retired Bloody Mary to build a new, faster, special with independent suspension augmenting the two JAP engines from Bloody Mary with two more to fashion beast with four JAP vee twins.

Bloody Mary, 5th Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend, Gurston Down

After the 1939 – 1945 war, in which half brother Richard lost his life serving in the RAF over Germany, John rebuilt Bloody Mary and from 1948 to 1953 he held the VSCC course record at Prescott with the machine in which he sat a mere 5″ off the ground. As Bloody Mary was becoming increasingly less competitive John’s competition driving career came to an end after a major accident in a race at Silverstone while driving a borrowed ERA.

Bloody Mary, 5th Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend, Gurston Down

John became a well known author one of his most popular books was called “Specials” and journalist with Autosport Magazine, he never used a type writer preferring to use Biro and paper as the tools of his trade. His activities included commentating on motor racing events for the BBC and in a similar role he was immortalised on film with a cameo role in the comedy The Fast Lady.

Bloody Mary eventually found it’s way to the National Motor Museum with ownership passing to his widow Rosemary Bolster upon John’s death in 1984. The car is seen in these photo’s at the 5th Tony Marsh Memorial Weekend run at Gurston Down earlier this year.

Thanks for joining me on this “Schoolboys And A Handrill” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Die Another Day – Ford Thunderbird

Ford revived the Personal Luxury Thunderbird model in 2002 following the success of various retro models including the the VW Golf based Beetle, and BMWs all new retro look Mini and Chryslers retro P/T Cruiser Ford designers took styling cues for the rebirth of the the Thunderbird name, which disappeared in 1997, from the 1954 first generation Thunderbird.

Ford Thunderbird, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu,

The new Thunderbird turned heads where ever it went according to one journalist and received the Motor Trend Car Of the Year Award from an adoring press. For a short time 11th Generation Thunderbirds even sold at a premium off the forecourts however Ford chose not to back it’s new jewel with the kind of marketing to which the public for luxury trucks had become accustomed and so just 19,000 Thunderbirds were sold in 2002 about a fifth short of what had been anticipated.

Ford Thunderbird, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu,

Despite cameo appearances in the 2004 science fiction kids film Thunderbirds an marginally more adult orientated 2002 James Bond thriller Die Another Day in which Bond’s side kick US agent Jinx played by Halle Berry appeared in today’s all Coral coloured car.

Ford Thunderbird, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu,

Unfortunately the lack of marketing, and possibly the lack of performance options which appear to have been lavished by the bucket load on the 2005 retro futurist Sid Ramnarace designed Ford Mustang, killed the Thunderbird off for a second time in 2005 with just 67,518 examples produced including a limited production run of 700 for the 007 special edition commemorating “Die Another Day”.

Thanks for joining me on this “Die Another Day” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Ferrari Friday when GALPOT will be paying a second visit to Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance. Don’t forget to come back now.

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British World Beater – BRM V16 Type 15 No. 1

After the on track success and commercial failure of his pre war English Racing Automobiles project and as the 1939-45 war drew to a close Raymond Mays returned to thoughts about how to build a British World Beater to compete in the highest form of motorsport.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

The saga that ensued was an object lesson in how not to go motor racing which began 2nd March 1945 when Raymond Mays announced an appeal to form a cooperative to design, build and race a national Grand Prix car.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, BRM Day, Bourne

Mays used his natural charm and reputation as a successful racing driver to attract over one hundred interested parties mostly from the motor industry and associated suppliers who were to contribute to the scheme with cash and or in kind.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Part of the problem with this way of working is that there were two many cooks, successful heads of industry, who in the kitchen that became known as the British Motor Racing Research Trust. As a result everything concerning the production of parts, running of the project and finances was done by committee. Note disc brakes did not appear on the BRM V16’s until 1952.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, BRM Day, Bourne

With more PR people, than mechanics, working for companies desperate to be associated with the project in order to drum up orders on the world stage the first of the new cars was completed at Bourne in 1949 and even given a run in the dead of night through the sleepy market hamlet of Bourne, Lincolnshire where it was built. Against May’s better judgement the car was shown to an eager audience of the Press on the 15th of December 1949.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

The concept for the car including the engine is credited to Raymond Mays collaborator at ERA Peter Betherton. Betherton’s choice of 1.5 litre V16 architecture with the two banks of cylinders inclined at 135° seems to have been inspired by the pre war unraced prototype Alfa Romeo Tipo 162 designed by Wifredo Ricart which was said to produce 490 hp.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, BRM Day, Bourne

BRM’s V16 was in essence two V8’s with a drive taken from the crankshaft between the two halves. Fatally the car was supercharged by an aircraft type centrifugal supercharger developed by Rolls Royce. The problem with this type of supercharger is that it gives great power, for aircraft operating continuously at a high rev range BUT it is almost unmanageable in a racing car application where smooth power band is required from low revs. The BRM V16 is said to have produced 550 hp at 12,000 unforgettable ear splitting RPM, see 8m 22s into this clip turn your volume up loud !

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, BRM Day, Bourne

The gearbox for the car was a copy from Mercedes Benz blueprints obtained as ‘war reparations’ of the type used on their pre war Grand Prix dominating cars.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, BRM Day, Bourne

The V16 BRM’s were supposed to make their debut at the 1950 British Grand Prix however they were still far from ready and instead one car did a couple of demonstration laps in front of future Queen Princess Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

When the V16 did make it’s debut in the hands of Raymond Sommer it arrived at 9:40 am on the morning of the 1950 non championship Daily Express Trophy after an all night engine rebuild at Bourne. The car had been flown at the race organisers expense twixt factory and circuit where Sommer needed to complete 3 quick laps before 10 am in order to be given dispensation to start from the back of the grid.

BRM V16 P15 Mk 1, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

Come the race and an expectant crowd who had been given a souvenir pamphlet on the new British wonder when the flag dropped the field sped away leaving Sommer behind as a universal joint snapped leaving the car with no drive.

Later in 1950 Reg Parnel driving the same car seen here won two minor races at Goodwood in the rain and the following season Reg used chassis No.1 on the cars Grand Prix debut at Silverstone where he finished 5th enough to score a point in the world championship. Team mate Peter Walker came home 7th in No.2 like Reg he was suffering from the intense cockpit heat with the addition of neat fuel vapor fumes coming from the motor.

The following year Formula One was abandoned in favor of Formula Two, in part because in their efforts to sign Juan Manuel Fangio BRM reneged on a deal to race in Turin which gave the unintended message to other race organisers that BRM was unable to challenge Ferrari. Ferrari won the two world championships run to Formula Two regulations in 1952 and 1953.

Fangio did sign for BRM and in one of the few non championship races held in 1952 and 1953 and he took a great liking to the V16 BRM’s. Driving chassis No.1 at Albi he beat the Ferrari driven by Alberto Ascari in the heat but then retired from the lead of the final when a tyre failed damaging the hub and brake disc. This was the high point of the BRM’s career as a British World Beater, although it did win 15 non championship races between 1951 and 1954 in all.

If you want to know the whole story behind BRM I can wholeheartedly recommend “BRM The Saga of British Racing Motors” by Doug Nye. Volume one of a projected two took almost sixteen years to write and while I am ploughing through a copy of volume one kindly lent to me by Tim Murray BRM fans are eagerly anticipating the appearance of BRM Volume 4 which Doug has repeatedly told his fans is in the pipe line.

Thanks for joining me on this “British World Beater” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I shall be looking at a Formula One car from France. Don’t forget to come back now !

04 07 13 Errata the correct type designation for the original V16 BRM is Type 15, not P15, thanks to Tim Murray for pointing this out to me some time ago. Not also that the car featured here has been fitted with a later type large radiator and associated body work modifications first seen in 1952.

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